William henry thrift



(No Model.) I

W. H. THRIFT.

} CLIP FOR SECURING BOOT, SHOE, OR OTHER LAGES. No. 536,406. 4 Patented Mar. 26, 1895,.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM HENRY THRIFT, OF LONDON-ENGLAND;

CLIP FOR SECURING BOOT, SHOE, OR OTHER LACES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 536,406, dated March 26, 1895. Application filed December 19,1894. Serial No. 532,335. (No model.) Patented in England September 14, 1894, No. 17,523.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HENRY THRIFT, a citizen of Great Britain, and reside ing at 53 Grove Road, Mile End, E., in the county of Middlesex, England, have inventeda new or Improved Clip for Securing Boot, Shoe, or other Laces, (for which I have obtained Letters Patent in Great Britain, No. 17,523, dated September 14:, 1894,) of which the followingis a specification.

My object is to a provide means for securing the ends of a boot, shoe or other lace with or without tying and to render it secure and unable to come unfastened.

I make use of a catch formed of brass or other suitable material which I secure to the tongue of the boot or shoe, and I provide the catch with two sharp teeth for use when the lace ends are not tied or with roughened surface for use when the lace ends are tied, and upon the catch 1 secure a small lid or cover hinged on one side and arranged to clip firmly at the other. This cover is pressed down and clipped over the lace ends after being tightened up and secured over the teeth, or tied as the case may be, and forms a shield for the whole.

The illustrations which accompany this specification will make my invention clear.

Similar letters indicate similar parts throughout.

Figure 1 is a plan and Figs. 2 and 3 are end and side views, while Fig. 4 is similar to Fig. 2, but with the cover open. Fig. 5 shows a laced up boot with the clip attached to the tongue, and Fig. 6 shows a side view of the clip with roughened surfaces.

The main part of the clip or catch is represented by the letter A and it has the shape shown -that is to say, it'has somewhat of a U- shape, the arms of which at the rear diverge as seen at a, whereby to better adapt the device to be attached to the upper end of the shoe-tongue and it is fastened to the tongue of the boot or shoe by stitches or otherwise in the position shown in Fig. 5 and I form upon and out of Athe teeth or hooks C or the roughened surface D Fig. 6 as the case maybe.

Upon A I hinge the cover B at B' so ar-' ranged that it shall catch securely at B and when it is to be used as in Fig. 6, the lace being tied, I roughen the inside surface as shown at D.

When the clip is used the lace is tightened up in the usual manner and the ends are either caught over the teeth 0 or may be tied (the knot coming over the roughened surface D). The lid B is then pressed down. The whole is thus secured and covered in, and the tongue of the boot or shoe is held andcannot slip out of its proper place.

A modified form of clip may be employed for stay and other laces.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The herein-described clip for use as described comprising the U shaped body portion, the arms whereof at their rear ends di-- verge as described, prongs integral with said body portion at the front edge of the same and projecting forwardly from said portion, and a curved or bowed plate hinged at'its upper end to the body portion 'and adapted to fold down vertically over the prongs, as specified.

2. The combination with the tongue of a shoe, of the described clip secured to the upper edge of the tongue and comprising the U shaped body portion the arms whereof at their rear ends diverge as described, prongs integral with said body portion at the front edge of the same and projecting forwardly from said portion, and a plate hinged at its upper end to the body portion and adapted to fold down vertically over the prongs, as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM HENRY THRIFT.

, Witnesses:

H. S. MARSHALL,

49 Lime St. T. J. OSMAR,

17 Gracechm'ch St, London, E. 0. 

